The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 crossed the continent, from Oregon to South Carolina, and gave millions of people the chance to witness one of the most awe-inspiring events in the natural world.

But you had to be within the "path of totality", a narrow band across the earth's surface several thousand miles long but only about 70 miles wide. Outside that band you would only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.

And there is no such thing as a "partial total eclipse", despite the impression blogs and the news media might give. I honestly think that's why so many people misunderstand the utter beauty of the spectacle; they may have seen a partial eclipse in the past that was total somewhere else, and even though they weren't in the path the news kept gushing about it being a total eclipse, so they assume they must have seen a total eclipse and just didn't find it all that impressive.


Posted by Dan 08/29/2017, revised 09/06/2017

The 2012 race season opened with Wildflower, in central California. A good excuse for a west coast visit, and the perfect opportunity for us to celebrate the awesomeness of the number Three. Three sports, three kids - we got to share the race, and everyone knows sharing is what siblings do best.

Now in its 30th year, Wildflower has a reputation for being a tough course with a competitive field, but is also known as the 'Woodstock of Triathlon,' with its live bands and the tradition of camping and partying.

The grounds are a packed, sprawling city of tents, coolers full of beer, and high end bicycles leaned casually against every upright surface. For a community known for its obsessive training regimen, meticulous planning, and a sadistic desire to subject themselves to prolonged discomfort - this laid back, party atmosphere seemed incongruous...

But there it was.

It took us awhile to locate a patch of land to claim as ours. There aren't proper campsites mapped out, so people have squeezed themselves in anywhere and everywhere. The scene reminded me of an overcrowded Florida beach during tourist season.

Down in the festival area, bands played, vendors sold GIANT TURKEY LEGS and ice cream - it was like a carnival.

The Naked Run is a Saturday tradition, a celebratory romp for those who had finished the Long Course race that afternoon. We heard the cheers approaching around dusk, and from the campground, herds of clothed people dashed for the road, "the Naked Run is coming!" We gathered roadside to cheer on all those hearty individuals with fresh sunburns and tanlines that ended mid-thigh, for whom 13.1 miles was simply not enough.

Cinco De Mayo revelry continued through the evening as a full moon shone so bright we didn't even need a lantern. If the Sunday Short Course athletes were concerned about being well-rested that night, they certainly never spoke up about it. Note to self: next time, earplugs!!

Sunday morning was pretty low key for us relay types. A lot of standing around, chatting up the competition, waiting...

Relays were the last wave to start, so naturally Nik and Whitney were going to have to spend a lot of time passing people on the bike and run.

My swim was great, the water was perfect, and before I knew it, my work was done. Nik has done the bike portion of the relay before, so he knew what to expect. But this was Whitney's first 10K - her first timed race of any kind, actually (we don't count "running" the Bay to Breakers dressed as a panda in a beer helmet). She tore up my Wildflower run record, coming in almost a minute faster than I did in 2008.

Nik and I joined Whitney in the finish chute so the three of us could finish as a team. It's pretty fun sprinting the Finish when you didn't actually run the 6.1 miles that came before it!

We ended up on the podium, placing 2nd in the Open Mixed Relay, 3rd Overall Relay (of 72 teams). Goodells Rule!

Posted by kim 06/09/2012, revised 06/20/2012

Nik enjoys motorcycling and rebuilding a 1970 Porsche 914.

In high school his interest in working on cars and motorcycles became an all-consuming passion, so he enrolled to study auto mechanics at UTI (Universal Technical Institute) in Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated from there in December, 2001.

Nik graduated from Ygnacio Valley High School in June 2000. He capped a stellar high school career with 10 varsity letters, including 3 in cross-country (all-BVAL, 1st-Team), 3 in soccer, and 4 in volleyball (all-BVAL, 2nd-Team). But up until 3 weeks before graduation, it was still unclear whether the administration would actually let him graduate -- they seemed to think he hadn't completed enough courses in Physical Education! He got a lesson in bureaucrats and their rules.

Nik finished his final high school cross-country season in remarkable fashion. A grueling schedule was loaded with invitational tournaments, in which they did quite well. In the Bay Valley Athletic League finals, Ygnacio Valley finished a close 2nd, placing an astonishing four runners in the first six in the league. Nik's 5th-place finish earned him 1st-Team All-League honors. In the North Coast Section Championships, Ygnacio Valley dominated the Division I final, placing four runners in the first nine and winning the Division I title easily. then it was off to respectable showings at the State Championships and Far Western Regionals, where Nik placed an impressive 25th place individually.

He also completed three years as goalkeeper for the varsity soccer team, and four years of high school volleyball, earning 2nd-Team All-League honors.

Posted by Dan 01/20/2003

While Ecuador and Thailand are two very different cultures in two completely different regions of the world, my previous experiences in the developing countries of Southeast Asia are often brought up in my memory, instigated by sights and experiences here in Ecuador. They are often little triggers: people standing on the roadways selling bags of edibles to you through a car/bus window, banana tree leaves blowing in a breeze, emaciated dogs digging through piles of garbage. But through the countless differences between the two regions, there lies one blatant - and tragic - difference: here in Ecuador, I cannot walk down the street and pay a little Thai woman $5 to give me a one-hour massage! And this, my friends, is a reality I struggle to come to terms with.

Yesterday, my colleague Robbie and I went rock-climbing at a great location about 30-40 minutes from our house. We don't currently have rope or other equipment for climbing, but we bouldered around low to the ground for a few hours. It was great fun, and a good workout for the arms and shoulders. But as it's been months since I've done any climbing, I woke up this morning with a million knots in my back and shoulders. All I want in the world is to be able to plop down on a mat and have a pint-sized Thai woman dig into my muscles with truck-sized strength!

But alas, I guess we just can't have everything in this world... at the same time.

Bouldering around on some cool rock in Ecuador!

Posted by Whitney 02/12/2011